In January this year, New Life Ministries’ missionary visited the Caribbean. He was deeply moved as he saw with his own eyes the needs and opportunities there and has returned with a powerful report. We are pleased to share these blessings with you.

Invitation to Cuba

After an invitation from the Mies Foundation, New Life Ministries’ partner for Bibles and manga book distribution in the Caribbean, it was with great anticipation and excitement that I set off for Cuba at the end of January. I had naturally heard a lot about the literature needs there, and I had also heard about the large number of people who have come to faith in Jesus Christ in this communist state. What I saw and heard did, however, go far beyond my expectations.

After having repeatedly visited and served our brothers and sisters in other communist countries for many years, I expected to find a country with significant restrictions in Christian activities. I had also heard much about persecution in Cuba in days gone by.

It was therefore a great surprise to see and hear with my own eyes and ears the freedom believers had, not only in practicing their faith, but also to evangelize their own people. Most Christians gather in house churches, but there are also a large number of church buildings filled every single week. Church buildings that were built before the communists came to power have been allowed to stand, and they are still allowed to use them. Permission to build new church buildings is extremely hard to obtain, but believers are free to meet in homes.

The Passion of Cuban Christians

What really struck me during my visit to Cuba was the fervor that Christians have for sharing the gospel. The training of church planters is unparalleled to anything I have ever seen before. And it was impressive to see how well it was organized. On the trip, we were also with a group from “Multiplication Network,” which specializes in church planting. The courses they run were exceptional. Hundreds of Cubans take a year-long course to become church planters. To receive a diploma for passing the course, they must plant at least one small group during this time, and it must consist of at least 15 people.

We met with leaders of different networks of churches on the island. What they all had in common was the enormous drive to plant new churches. One of the networks that we serve with literature celebrated last year that they had planted 5,000 new house churches in 10 years. And completely independently of each other, several leaders of different networks said that their plans were to start 200 new churches a year! They first start a “small group” consisting of 15 people. When these grow, they appoint pastors and establish churches.

“We Have Nothing Left to Distribute”

We were able to attend several graduation ceremonies for church planters. And it was touching to see their fire for the gospel. They said that materially, life is very difficult in Cuba. They lack most everything. That is why many people live without any hope for the future. In the midst of this, they experience that the gospel of Jesus brings hope, light and a future into their lives.

Those who finish the church planting course usually take home a stack of Bibles and manga books to use in their ministry. At the gatherings we attended, however, they did not receive any. Simply because there were none available. Everything we have sent in the past has been used. The staff told me, “We have nothing left to distribute.”

Deep Gratitude from the People

I visited several cities in Cuba and met with church planters, pastors and evangelists. All of them expressed immense gratitude for the literature that we had provided. They said frankly that without manga books and Bibles they would not be able to reach out with the gospel in the same way. They begged us for more.
New Life Ministries cannot do this without you. We depend on you to partner with us in prayer and with financial support. We have an open door to a people who are open to the gospel.
As they said, there truly is nothing left in Cuba right now. New Life Ministries is planning to send 210,000 copies of Bibles and Manga Bibles to Cuba and other Caribbean nations. However, currently, only one-third of the necessary funds have been raised. Your support is crucial to make this plan a reality.

Would you consider partnering with us in this incredible and urgent challenge? We are grateful for the opportunity to share in the blessing of bringing the gospel to the people of Cuba—together with you.